Thursday, October 21, 2010

Canada’s Citizenship Award 2010 | Twelve Outstanding Canadians

Canada’s Citizenship Award (formerly the Citation for Citizenship) is a prestigious award that pays tribute to Canadians who have made an important contribution to Canada by promoting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship. It also honours Canadians who have played an outstanding role in helping newcomers to integrate into Canadian society.

The following are the Twelve Outstanding Canadians recipients of Canada’s Citizenship Award 2010:

Dr. James Chi Ming Pau of Vancouver, British ColumbiaFor the past 30 years, Dr. Pau has helped residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, many of them new immigrants, deal with poverty, inadequate housing, health issues and drug and alcohol abuse. He provides free seminars and workshops to help immigrants who are homesick and those who turn to drugs after arriving in Canada. Dr. Pau actively promotes world peace, human rights and harmony between people of different religions.

Maria Logan of Vancouver, British ColumbiaSince arriving in Canada from Switzerland in 1950, Ms. Logan has dedicated her life to helping others as a member of the Canadian Red Cross Corps, the Vancouver Swiss Society and through her many volunteer activities. She has been honoured with the Governor General’s Canadian Caring Award.

Shokoofeh Moussavi of Calgary, AlbertaIn 1992, she established a legal clinic in partnership with Calgary Legal Guidance. Ms. Moussavi continues to manage the clinic, where volunteer lawyers provide free legal guidance to immigrant women and their families. To date, the clinic has helped over 7,200 newcomers.

Dr. Kazi Sadrul Hoque of Toronto, OntarioDr. Hoque actively volunteers in several community service agencies including the Canadian Cancer Society, Bangladeshi - Canadian Community Services and the Newcomer Women Centre to promote citizenship, civic pride and respect for core Canadian values. He has helped tens of thousands of newcomers become Canadians who understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and are active members of their communities.

Mario Guilombo of Toronto, OntarioMario Guilombo is a lawyer and human rights activist who fled his native Colombia after facing persecution for his humanitarian work. Since arriving in Canada, he has worked to support over 6,000 newcomer and refugee families.

Xiaoran (Joshua) Jiang of Toronto, OntarioIn 2007, at the age of 15, Joshua organized the first of four “Hope and Light” events to raise funds for ORBIS, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of blindness worldwide. He recruited and led student volunteers to organize competitions in mathematics, chess and public speaking in the Chinese community. Joshua and his team of young volunteers organized two seminars to provide newcomers with information about the North American post-secondary education system. These seminars were attended by over 300 immigrant students and parents.

Dr. Ambaro Guled of Toronto, OntarioDr. Ambaro Guled has been a community health worker in Toronto’s Regent Park since 1993. She volunteers extensively in the mainly immigrant neighbourhood by helping newcomers adjust to Canadian society. A refugee from Somalia, Dr. Guled founded the Youth Recreational Program in Regent Park in 1997 and has initiated several programs to assist immigrant women, youth and seniors. She has set up ESL courses for women and a homework club for young students. Dr. Guled speaks English, Somali, Italian and Romanian, and has acted as a liaison between school boards and newcomer parents in the community.

Dr. Hoanh Khoi Nguyen (Dr. Khoi) of Toronto, OntarioOver the past two decades, Dr. Khoi has helped Nicaraguan refugees unite with their families in Ontario, raised funds for tsunami victims, worked as a volunteer physician for Bosnian refugees, and provided medical treatment to hundreds of new immigrants and low income families.

Christopher Harris of Ottawa, OntarioChristopher Harris has spent almost 50 years improving relations between police and visible minorities in the National Capital Region. His work as a volunteer with the Ottawa Police Service dates back to 1962, and he has worked with the RCMP for the past 26 years. Due to his relentless efforts, the Ottawa Police Service and the Ottawa Fire Service have made extensive changes to their hiring and training practices to welcome more visible minorities and Aboriginal people. Mr. Harris initiated the Ottawa Police Service’s cross-cultural sensitization program and was instrumental in establishing procedures to deal with issues between police and the community.

Elizabeth Rapley of Ottawa, OntarioElizabeth Rapley has provided assistance to refugees since 1956 when she welcomed a young Hungarian refugee couple into her home. Active in a number of volunteer organizations while she raised a family and pursued a PhD in history, Ms. Rapley immersed herself in Project 4000 in 1979, providing settlement assistance to Cambodian refugees.

Rosemary A. Segee of Montreal, QuebecWhether it is finding housing for a family in need, helping with legal issues or directing newcomers to the necessary resources, Rosemary Segee has a deep commitment to improving the lives of those who live in her community.

Gail McKay of Fall River, Nova ScotiaOver eight years ago, Gail McKay spearheaded the establishment of an Ecumenical Refugee Committee in the Fall River, NS area. Buoyed by her passionate interest in social justice and humanitarian issues, she organized a number of area churches to sponsor new arrivals to Canada. Her enthusiasm has helped raise awareness of the responsibility of communities to help meet the needs of newcomers. She leads by example and educates as she leads.